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In case you’d mistakenly assumed that corporate America has been making the progress we’ve all been promised, only 28 percent of corner-office roles are currently occupied by women—and only 6 percent of those roles are filled by women of color. Which makes the triumphs achieved by the 13 founders down below all the more wow-worthy. They’re launching exciting companies, and embracing emerging technologies to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, all while focusing on a common goal: to create meaningful change for everyone who comes next.
Refreshing Your Memory
Every year, Cosmo and digitalundivided (a nonprofit geared toward catalyzing economic growth for Black and Latina female entrepreneurs) spotlight a select group of innovative female founders of color. Our judges (noted below) spend months screening hundreds of applicants to land on the final list of honorees. As members of the New C-Suite, these entrepreneurs receive mentorship, workshops, and business support as they scale their companies to the next level. So without further ado...
Meet the 2023 Honorees
Dafna Mizrahi
Shaira + Mabel Frías
Jasmine Jones
Candace Mitchell Harris
Riana Lynn
Kristen Sonday
Mary Hernandez + Beatriz Acevedo
Newsha Ghaeli + Mariana Matus
Daniela Blanco
Courtney Caldwell
Her Business
Curamia is a lifestyle company with Mexican roots that produces authentically sourced tequila.
Her Bragging Rights
The first major flex: Curamia’s $1.5 million in funding came entirely from female investors. The second: Since it launched in the U.S. two years ago, the brand’s booze has made it to 14 states, despite the fact that the tequila market is already heavily saturated—and the fact that Curamia didn’t even have a sales team until last summer.
How It Started
Dafna’s deep pride in her heritage had her thinking about reclaiming Mexican spirits. “In the past couple of years, tequila has become Hollywoodized,” she says. “Every celebrity’s face is on a bottle, but none of their backgrounds really relate to tequila.” In 2020, she teamed up with Melissa Del Savio, an expert in the beverage industry, and a distillery in Mexico to start Curamia.
How It’s Going
The company recently partnered with a female-led marketing agency to get its message out there: “We’ve shaped Curamia as a brand that celebrates women—and doesn’t sell women.”
Why She Does It
“Yes, people love our brand and love our product, but more important is the educational portion—we’re changing the negative perception of Mexico.”
Her Motto
“Every day is a struggle, and we must be kind to one another.”
Get Curamia Tequila Here!
Curamia Tequila Blanco
Curamia Tequila Añejo
Curamia Tequila Reposado
Their Business
Luna Magic makes affordable cosmetics infused with Latina culture and flair.
Their Bragging Rights
In 2021, more than 4 million viewers watched Luna Magic get a $250,000 line of credit offer from Barbara Corcoran on Shark Tank. Now, the company’s products have nearly 6,000 positive customer reviews.
How It Started
The Dominican American sisters were inspired by the personal and cultural roles that beauty played in their lives growing up. Four years ago, they noticed a vacant space in the market for budget-friendly cosmetics that represented their Afro-Latina heritage...and the rest is history.
How It’s Going
In just a few years, Luna Magic has made its way into more than 2,500 Target, CVS, and Walmart stores nationwide, where its customers can shop for lipstick, mascara, blush, bronzer, and more.
Why They Do It
It’s all about cultural communication and building community, says Shaira. “Every aspect of the products, even the names, was inspired by things from our childhood.” Adds Mabel: “You need to create a product that people connect with, and that’s what Luna Magic does.”
Their Mottos
“It’s not the final destination, it’s the journey.” —Shaira Frías
“Move in seasons.” —Mabel Frías
Get Luna Magic Here!
Tulum Pressed Powder Highlighter
Desnuda Shadow Palette
Soñadoras Eyelashes
Her Businesses
Cherry Blossom Intimates boutique and virtual platform Myya offer post-mastectomy patients customizable bras and insurance-billable breast prostheses with a state-of-the-art fitting experience.
Her Bragging Rights
The prostheses come in 36 shades and bras are available in more than 200 sizes. To date, the companies have helped more than 18,000 people find the confidence they deserve.
How It Started
Witnessing her grandmother’s post-mastectomy journey was what motivated Jasmine. “My sisters and I got to shop in beautiful lingerie stores, but she couldn’t go anywhere except a medical supply store,” she says. Jasmine later met Regina Hampton, MD, a breast cancer surgeon, who noted that her patients were dealing with the same issue. The women teamed up to open a brick-and-mortar store in 2018. Three years later, Jasmine created Myya to provide the fitting service online.
How It’s Going
Myya now hosts pop-ups all over the U.S., where it does 3D prosthesis printing (in partnership with Married to Medicine’s Jacqueline “Dr. Jackie” Walters, MD). Its products will also be available on Nordstrom.com starting in late 2023.
Why She Does It
“I’m envisioning a world where breast health or breasts in general are less taboo.
Being a woman isn’t a bad thing. There’s so much strength and power in our femininity.”
Her Motto
“Nothing will stop me. I will keep going until I win.”
Get Myya Here!
Josie Bra in Amethyst
Ruth Bra in Luna Black
Vivian Bra in Luna Black
Her Business
Myavana is a personalized hair care service that uses AI to analyze users’ specific hair needs.
Her Bragging Rights
The company has analyzed more than 2 billion strands of hair so far, and its proprietary software was written by its own Black and Brown scientists and engineers. That same software is now licensed by some of the largest companies in the world, including Unilever.
How It Started
Candace’s own natural hair journey served as major inspo: “I was using so many different products that were drying out and breaking off my hair,” she says. “I didn’t know what was going on.” Her research revealed that your hair is just as unique as your fingerprints, so she set out to create an algorithm that individually matches people’s hair with products that will actually work for them.
How It’s Going
Myavana’s hair analysis kit is now available on Amazon, and its HairAI tech will soon launch on Ulta.com. The company is also piloting in-store beauty aisle kiosks that allow you to snap a photo of your hair and receive personalized recommendations as you shop.
Why She Does It
“I realized how my hair affected my self-perception and my emotions—I just wanted to be confident in my own skin. Knowing that every person we serve also has an inner transformation that they’re working through keeps me motivated.”
Her Motto
“Be bold and courageous.”
MYAVANA Hair Strand Analysis Kit
Her Business
Journey Foods uses data and AI to improve inefficient and wasteful food production processes.
Her Bragging Rights
Riana’s was one of the first companies to offer an AI tool for creating recipes. “As Black technologists and scientists, oftentimes we don’t think about the value of our creations. Throughout history, Black inventors and creators have been pushed aside. On a personal level, I love that we were very early to the AI game.”
How It Started
Riana grew up surrounded by food talk, with grandparents on both sides who worked in the food activism space. “It’s been my career-long mission to find the most creative ways to accelerate impact on food,” she says. After working in academia and government, she decided to go in an entrepreneurial route and founded Journey Foods in 2018.
How It’s Going
Journey Foods has generated more than 17,000 improvement recommendations for companies. Now it’s working with celebrities, helping them build more cost-effective, sustainable, and healthy personal brands. The company is also brokering deals that connect Black farmers with some of the largest beverage, spirits, and food brands in the country.
Why She Does It
“Not only is there a plethora of problems that people face in the food system, there’s also a hell of a lot of people to feed. I get grounded by that fact. It’s not just about being the first to do XYZ. It’s truly about feeding 8 billion people better.”
Her Motto
“Exposure is life’s greatest professor.”
Her Business
Paladin is a tech platform that makes it easier for attorneys to connect with low-income individuals who need legal assistance.
Her Bragging Rights
In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Paladin partnered with the American Bar Association to build the first-ever nationwide disaster-relief pro bono portal. In its first few months, the portal helped thousands of people access assistance for unemployment benefits, housing issues, and family law. In all, Paladin has made tens of thousands of client-lawyer connections.
How It Started
While working at the U.S. Justice Department, Kristen saw firsthand how complicated the judicial system can be to navigate—especially for marginalized communities with limited access to legal representation. To help bridge that gap, she and lawyer Felicity Levey decided to create a company that leveraged technology to make the legal system more accessible for under-represented communities.
How It’s Going
Paladin currently has more than 3,000 pro bono cases available for attorneys to take on. It’s also building collaboration tools to help law firms, corporate teams, and legal services organizations work together to improve their pro bono efforts.
Why She Does It
“It’s as much personal as it is professional. The justice gap disproportionately affects women, immigrants, and minorities—and my cofounder and I represent all three groups. Just knowing that we are helping people gain access to a lawyer that they might not have had otherwise is really powerful.”
Her Motto
“Stop talking; start doing.”
Their Business
Suma Wealth is a digital platform that provides young Latinos and their families with the education and tools to build financial security.
Their Bragging Rights
The platform’s user engagement is 17 times higher than that of any other U.S. fintech company, according to its internal data. Beatriz and Mary credit leaning hard into their culture: “Everything we do is fun and very much rooted in Latin nostalgia and pop culture,” says Beatriz.
How It Started
The founders know from experience how first-generation Americans often become social—and legal and medical and financial—translators for their elders. Beatriz and Mary set out to help them navigate educating themselves and their families on money fundamentals.
How It’s Going
Suma Wealth has grown well beyond its targeted demo—20 percent of its 890,000 users are non-Latine. The company now uses AI to help identify new savings opportunities for its audience.
Why They Do It
“If we’re able to provide this generation with resources they never had before, we can help close the wealth gap,” Mary says. “Contributing to closing that gap would be an incredible legacy,” adds Beatriz.
Their Mottos
“Have a plan, but know there’ll be adjustments.” —Mary Hernandez
“You always know more than you think you do.” —Beatriz Acevedo
Their Business
Biobot Analytics uses molecular technology and AI to assess sewage in order to help government agencies, businesses, universities, and health systems track high-risk substance use and diseases like COVID-19.
Their Bragging Rights
The company operates in more than 1,200 locations across all 50 states, a few U.S. territories, and a couple of Canadian provinces. It was recognized by Time magazine as one of the Time100 Most Influential Companies of 2022.
How It Started
As research collaborators on a sew-age and community health project at MIT, Mariana and Newsha worked with government agencies that had an interest in sewage data, and they noticed that there was no company out there offering a wastewater monitoring service to provide population health data. In 2017, they decided to launch their own, starting with tracking opioids and then pivoting to COVID-19 when the pandemic struck.
How It’s Going
Biobot Analytics plans to expand globally and widen its data’s relevance. It recently launched a respiratory illnesses panel to monitor for flu and RSV.
Why They Do It
“Frequently, we get messages from regular citizens who browse our website’s data page, telling us how checking it has become part of their daily routine to understand their own risks,” Newsha says. “It’s a pretty powerful reminder of why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
Their Mottos
“Things don’t happen to you—they happen for you.” —Newsha Ghaeli
“Build something bigger than yourself.” —Mariana Matus
Her Business
Sunthetics offers a machine-learning platform that uses AI to make the chemical testing and development process for products like medicine and cosmetics more efficient and environmentally sustainable.
Her Bragging Rights
Daniela was named one of MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 Latin America in 2020, and in 2021, Sunthetics was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation.
How It Started
While working as a chemical engineer, Daniela noticed that the true bottleneck on the journey toward a greener chemical industry was the numerous rounds of experimentation, sometimes in the thousands, required to make an optimal product. She saw an opportunity to use AI to make the process faster and less wasteful.
How It’s Going
“We have world-leading companies in chemical manufacturing using our technology,” she says.“They are developing better chemistry, more sustainable materials, and faster medicine.” Sunthetics is preparing to relaunch its platform in 2024, when it will be open for even more companies to use (there’s already a growing waitlist).
Why She Does It
“I’ve dreamed of changing this industry for so long. I want to feel like I’m really doing something that makes a difference.”
Her Motto
“You have a hammer. Just find the nail.”
Her Business
ShearShare is an app that allows independent stylists and beauty professionals to rent workspace in salons, spas, and barbershops.
Her Bragging Rights
Businesses in more than 900 U.S. cities are currently using ShearShare, which was recognized as one of Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas.
How It Started
Courtney and her husband, Tye Caldwell, have owned a salon and barbershop in Plano, Texas, for more than 20 years. About a decade ago, they noticed how rising generations of stylists wanted location flexibility (versus working at the same salon for years). They developed their app to connect stylists to open chairs across the country.
How It’s Going
On average, salon hosts on the app earn an extra $50,000 per year. For three years now, ShearShare has had a partnership with Lloyd’s of London that gives its freelance users daily liability insurance. It recently launched portable healthcare benefits and personalized continuing education guidance.
Why She Does It
“This is an industry that’s fed our family for more than 30 years. I wake up every day really completely obsessed with providing the tools people need to live out a long-term successful career. When someone tells me, ‘Thank god you guys are around—you are literally helping to keep my small business open...,’ hearing that from the industry we have the honor of serving every day is enough."
Her Motto
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
The Judges
Brittany S. Hale
Interim CEO and COO of digitalundivided
Beth Devin
Colead of HearstLab
President and CEO of the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement and digitalundivided board member
Jessica Giles
Editor-in-Chief, Cosmopolitan
Annabel Iwegbue is an associate editor at Cosmopolitan where she primarily covers entertainment and lifestyle. Before joining Cosmo, she covered entertainment at Harper's Bazaar, The Knockturnal, and Black Film. She's originally from Charleston, South Carolina, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Cinema Studies from New York University. You can check out some of Annabel’s work here and also find her on Instagram and Twitter.
